Commercial Recycling Services

The City provides convenient recycling collection for Berkeley businesses and businesses can typically reduce their refuse bill by half! A customer service representative will visit your site and design a program to fit your space and disposal nees. There is no fee for this recycling service!  Send an email to request service or contact Refuse Customer Service to start service or make changes to your existing service.

Cans, Bottles, Plastics & Paper Recycling

Collect discards as you generate them, using a small container by your desk, kitchen preparation area, in lunchroom, etc. Then transfer it into wheeled blue carts supplied by the City.  Wheel the carts to the curb by 7 a.m. on your collection day. If you generate large amounts, we can supply bins or roll-off boxes, and collect up to 6 days/week for cardboard and 5 days/week for all other material.

The City will supply recycling storage containers, and in some cases, will supply blue desk-side recycling containers and internal collection containers for your employees.

What to Recycle: Glass, Plastic Bottles, and Metal Cans go into 1 Cart

• Glass Bottles: all colors. Lids and labels can stay on. DO NOT INCLUDE dishes, light bulbs, windows, or Pyrex. They melt at a different temperature from glass bottles.
• Metal Cans: "tin" cans, aluminum cans, aluminum foil and trays. Remove food residues.  Labels can remain.
• Plastic Bottles: Recycle all narrow-necked or screw-topped bottles marked with a #1 or #2. (The number is usually on the bottom.  Nearly all bottles are #1 or #2.) These include water, soda, milk, juice and detergent bottles. To save space, remove lids and flatten the bottles.  DO NOT RECYCLE bottles from motor oil or other automotive products.  Do not recycle any other plastic items in this program, even if they are marked #1 or #2!

A Few Other Plastics are Recyclable

• Plastic bags like grocery, produce and dry cleaners’ bags - many supermarkets and some dry cleaners take them back. Ask a clerk for the bag recycling station.
• Businesses: Ask your supplier.  Some suppliers collect used bags and sell new bags made from recycled plastic.
• Foam Packing Peanuts and Bubble Wrap:  Put them in plastic bags and take them to a packaging store, such as Mailboxes Etc.
• Industrial plastics in large amounts:   www.stopwaste.org 

Paper

• Mixed papers - recycle all office and packaging paper together including white and colored papers, envelopes, forms, file folders, tablets, junk mail, cereal boxes, wrapping paper, catalogs, magazines, phone books, newspaper, and newspaper inserts.  You can include metal staples, clips, glue, labels, and plastic windows on envelopes.  Please remove plastic bindings and dividers. DO NOT INCLUDE other plastic coated paper, blueprints, cups/plates, milk or juice cartons, food contaminated paper, tissue or photographs.
• Corrugated cardboard boxes and brown paper bags - Remove packaging, then flatten and place in cart or bin. DO NOT INCLUDE waxed cardboard.  A few cardboard boxes can be put with your mixed paper.  If you have large amounts occasionally, call for a special pickup.  

NEW!! Recycle Food Waste & Organics

The City now collects food waste for composting, and Berkeley diverts more than 300 tons away from the landfill with this program. Restaurants, markets, bakeries, florists, coffee shops and food producers are eligible to participate. More than 100 businesses, large and small, are participating, including: Andronico’s, Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, Monterey Market, Peet’s Coffee, Betty’s Diner, Café De La Paz,  Picante Cocina, Pyramid Brewery, Venezia Restaurant, Ashby Flowers, Metropolitan Bakery, Ajanta Indian Cuisine, Kamal Palace Indian Cuisine, Boran Thai, Cha-Am Thai, Zachary's Pizza and more!

Berkeley businesses can recycle food scraps, flowers, paper napkins and wrappings, waxed cardboard, and unpainted wood scraps such as shipping crates (nails are ok). The City will supply carts or bins for your organics and can collect your organics up to six days/week. Participants receive a discount of 20% off the current refuse rate for the food waste portion of their service and find it an effective program for meeting Green Business certification program criteria.

To Start Recycling Food Waste & Organics: Contact Customer Service 

To Recycle Other Materials: Check the Alameda County Recycling Hotline website at www.stopwaste.org.